All life experiences, both good and bad, influence our actions, inspire growth, and make us who we are. The autumn of my sophomore year, I was invited to join a Dayton brigade with twelve medical doctors determined to make a difference in the poor, remote country of Honduras. With a backpack and a tub of medical supplies, I set forth to embrace the foreign mission with a tender heart and open mind.
Five A.M. on a cold February morning, the plane departed and I was heading for Tegucigalpa, Honduras. The intercom voice woke me from a five hour slumber and soon I was descending onto the barren runway with sweltering sun overhead. I had arrived. Collecting the brigades’ twenty-four tubs of medical supplies, the open bed truck was packed and the treacherous drive began. The eight hour path provided many sights I had not imagined: rolling mountains, looming dirt roads, abandoned disabled vehicles, and shanty shacks along the road side.
Arriving at my home for the next two weeks, a vacant, simple outpost clinic, the group learned how to clean precious water. The use of the limited water source was a major dispute between the Honduran community and the Shoulder-to-Shoulder organization. Fearing the loss, local officials proved to me the importance of every drop; a commodity I never contested in the United States. The first evening, two local women prepared a delicacy of beans and rice while the malnourished children looked onward. Guilt overcame my unprepared heart.
Assigned the job to soothe the minds of patients and build trust with the community, I assisted the doctors in medical checkups and later traveled to one-room homes sharing my meal with famished families that lived off of daily rations. During free time, I spent my time giving piggy-back rides, kicking soccer balls, and taking photographic memories. Their smiling faces and childish giggles warmed my heart. They adopted me into their way of life.
Initially excited for a fun adventure, I never fathomed how the Dayton brigade would change my life’s direction; the possibility would never have crossed my path of pursuing a medical career if I had not embraced the journey to Honduras. Today, I invest my time towards a medical field focusing on Physical Therapy. Living an active lifestyle, this career allows me a hands-on approach regarding my interpersonal relations and research of the inspiring human body. An achievable dream as I am capable of completing the challenging curriculum, returning to this distant land to help the same towns and expanding my reach by leading future students and brigades.